[20:21:20] Hours later, and the moon was present in the sky. Edmund's patience was wearing thin, and he'd often have to break his sitting position to take a walk, or maybe indulge in some kind of game. Without guidance, he knew that the process was much slower than before. Much as he hated to admit it, Amy being here would have helped tremendously. But he was on his own, in the quickly-darkening forest. After finishing a 10 minute lap around the area, Edmund sat down again, and closed his eyes.

With the pace of a snail, the thoughts and images present in his mind began to melt away, and dissolve into the inky blackness. Silence, more muted than something as simple as the silence of reality. This was almost suffocating, a vacuum of sound present only within the confines of his mind. It frightened him, as it quickly became clear that without the surrounding ambiance, he heard nothing but the fleshy noises his own body made. The pumping of blood through his veins, each intake of breath. It was erratic, disrupting, and the sole reason he'd been unable to move on.

A thought struck him (After he'd lost concentration of course), the solution to this problem was a matter of getting used to it. But like a poorly coordinated marching band, one couldn't grow accustomed to madness. No, instead Edmund had to force it into order, to regulate both his breath and his heartbeat, so that he might fall into a pattern and listen only to what he wanted to hear. If it became predictable, his body's natural sounds could easily be ignored. So, he sat himself down once more, and crossed his legs. As he felt himself sink deeply into a meditative state, he would suck in a breath, hold it for a set time, and release it without fail. The pattern built itself up, and soon enough after a few failed attempts Edmund was able to roughly do it without much thought.

A feat that would take much longer, were it not for Edmund's natural talent in learning. The breathing technique he adopted was one he had always been told to use when he was angry as a child. Breathe deeply, count to 3, and release. It was an archaic and nearly pointless practice, but it helped to keep his body's functions stable and thus ignorable.

Beats per minute: 43.. 42... 40... Gingerly his heart resigned itself to the pace of a great beast, focusing instead power than speed. The palpations had grown to soothe Edmund, in a strange twist of fate. Thanks to this, he was able to move past the physical barrier between him and total trance.

Delving even deeper into his body, Edmund had gone beyond his physical form. He was starting to feel something different, something deeper. It felt blue, and golden. There were bits and pieces of this strange alternative energy within him, which he'd later recognize as Mana. It was as though he'd stumbled upon a medley of intertwining rivers, each speckled with golden dust within. Though these currents were all fragmented, broken in some parts or otherwise incomplete.

A deep urge arose within him, and without thinking he began to will these currents to begin repairing themselves. Some connected, others went to places that they'd never bothered venturing. The process was slow, but right now, Edmund had all the time in the world. He was actually beginning to feel some sense of accomplishment, until he was violently jerked back into the waking world.

Snap! A branch fell next to him, and on it a frightened squirrel. Edmund's eyes snapped open, and he jumped to his feet instantly. He felt something on his head lift away, and he felt much lighter. In his surprise he looked up, and saw a bird fly away into the distance. His gaze darted quickly between the bird and the branch, until he finally put events in order. The branch had fallen, and disturbed the bird that was nesting on his head. The sound jolted him awake as well.

Wait.. A bird was nesting on his head? He pondered this, and looked to the sky where he saw it fly off. His pondering was interrupted, however, by the shock of what he saw next.

The sky was dark save for the lights being cast by the constellations. There was no moon; he'd made it past his required time without even realizing.

Time Elapsed: 13 Hours, 46 minutes.
(Edmund Altan)